Bed sheets used by institutions such as hospitals are subject to extensive wear conditions. Such wear, of course, comes about through use. In addition to ordinary bed use, sheets typically found in hospitals and other institutions are subjected to extensive wear and tear simply through repeated laundry, which often is aggressive.
In the end, this treatment and the resulting wear have a significant effect on the durability and longevity of such sheets. It is not uncommon for such sheets to begin to run after such wear and these runs tend to progress to the point that the sheets start to unravel and tear. Once this happens, the sheets must be discarded.
Further, many institutional bed sheets tend to be of the fitted type. These fitted bed sheets include elastic sewn-in the perimeter of the sheets. Once the elastic has been subjected to repeated laundry and wear, the elastic has a tendency to loose its strength and elasticity. This obviously results in the fitted sheets not fitting snuggly and smoothly around the mattress.
Therefore, there has been and continues to be a need for a durable fitted bed sheet that is resistant to runs.